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Influences
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Influences

by Morris McClung

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 13, 2012282 views15 comments
The moon influences tidal flow and seemingly these rock formations from the Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado this morning. It influenced me to get up and go shoot at this location today.

I also am influenced by other photographers and other artists. This image is indicative of my increased awareness lately of the Golden Ratio in art and my newly formed desire to try to incorporate it into my work when it might present itself. This image doesn't fit the ratio perfectly, but is close enough for me.

You can find examples of this ratio in the Japanese artist Hokusai's work, and even in Marc Adamus' recent image, "Sound of Thunder."

Comments and critiques always welcome, and thanks for looking,

Morris

Large Version included.

Comments

15 comments
Comment posted by Peter Richter on March 13, 2012 at 5:20 PM
Morris, the inclusion of the moon in your image makes for a stunning tension to me, which is even more emphasized by the contrast between the warmer and darker tones in the foreground and the cooler and brighter ones of the moon. Furthermore I experience a kind of gravitation, which symbolizes for me the rather close relationship bewteen the moon and the earth. Interesting work in my opinion.

Peter
Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments
Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 13, 2012 at 5:23 PM
Beautiful image. You must have been in the perfect place and time for this one. Very compelling
Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 13, 2012 at 7:02 PM
Sweet image Morris!!!! :toast:
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on March 13, 2012 at 8:04 PM
This is beautiful, Morris. Where was it taken?

- Dan
Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments
Comment posted by Eva McDermott on March 13, 2012 at 8:20 PM
Everything is in the right place here Morris. Beautiful image but I have to ask...... What exactly is the is the Golden Ratio? This looks like a 4X5 or 6X7 aspect ratio but I think you mean something different. I am not familiar with the term in photo terms.
Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments
Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on March 13, 2012 at 8:32 PM
Love it Morris. The moon looks tack sharp with great detail!
Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on March 13, 2012 at 10:25 PM
Morris, golden ratio or not I like the beautiful golden color on the flatiron rock formation and the sense of scale provided by the evergreen trees. I also like the framing of the moon in the image. To be honest though I'm not too excited about the color of the sky. To my eyes it feels too much on the grey side. This may be due to the warm white balance and / or the natural lighting (due to hazy skies???) - I'm not sure though. As I scroll down I also like a slight crop just above the rock formation. :wavey:
Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments
Comment posted by Stuart Williams on March 14, 2012 at 7:51 AM
morris, the golden light in your image is lovely! within the image there are various areas that relate to each other and which could be included in golden ratio calculations ... these are good things to have in our toolkit when making images.
Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 14, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Looks golden to me. Simple composition and perfectly controlled light works very well together here.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on March 14, 2012 at 11:17 AM
Beautiful light and wonderful capture. I could see cropping a little of the negative space from the top. Sweet work Morris
Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on March 14, 2012 at 1:12 PM
Thanks everyone. :wavey:
Dan, I took this from the north side of the Flatirons up one of the trails that go up from Baseline past Chautauqua.

Eva, there is too much information for me to respond here about the Golden Ratio, so I would just suggest you Google it and you will have more to read than you probably really would want to. :biggrin: Even Wikipedia has a ton of info about it. It's just so cool. It applies to all of the natural world around us and is based on a ratio of 1:1.618.

Bryan, the warm balance is about right I think, but it was hazy indeed which affected the sky's color. It was a warm light this morning and there just was not much blue in the sky. And, you might be right about a crop off of the top. I had cropped in from the left to eliminate some unwanted space because I was too far away to get the comp with my 300mm, and to keep the rectangle of the outside frame in proportion to the ratio I probably need to crop the same amount from the top.
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on March 14, 2012 at 11:03 PM
Morris, I agree that the white balance appears to be correct based on the color in the rock formation and the early morning light. I probably should have clarified that. The grey appearance in the sky must be due to the haziness that you mentioned. Definitely a beautiful image. :wavey:
Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments
Comment posted by Art Escobado on March 14, 2012 at 11:33 PM
what a great shot! it feels like the trees are pushing up against the rock, and the rock is trying to catch the moon!
Registered on January 7, 2007, 0 Posts, 775 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on March 15, 2012 at 6:50 PM
This looks fantastic to me! Awesome light and comp....this is wonderful work, Morris. :toast: :toast:

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 17, 2012 at 9:53 PM
I have to be honest and say I would have been tempted to move that moon a little (to wherever I wanted it). Although it certain works very well where it was. :biggrin:
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments